Scottish Parliament debates Levenmouth reopening
THE Scottish Parliament debated the merits of reopening the fivemile Thornton to Leven railway on September 27.
A motion called for the Scottish Parliament to note the strong local support for reopening the railway, to welcome the Levenmouth Sustainable Transport Study published in January this year, and to note that passenger numbers on other reopened routes such as the Borders Railway have exceeded predictions and that “a strong case has been made for ministers to give serious consideration to the reopening of the Levenmouth line for passenger and freight services”.
Mid Fife and Glenrothes MSP Jenny Gilruth (SNP) pointed out that Levenmouth is the largest conurbation in Scotland not directly served by rail, and that local businesses support the scheme.
She said that haulier W H Malcolm said it was “not averse to switching from road to rail”, while Diageo said that it would “give serious consideration to the option of transporting materials via freight train”.
Gilruth also raised concerns about poverty levels in the area, adding: “I firmly believe… that the rail link is an essential ingredient to reviving the fortunes of Levenmouth and also for enabling people to travel in and out of the area for work purposes.”
She called on the Scottish Transport Minister to commit Network Rail to produce a Governance for Railway Investment Projects (GRIP) Level 4 study of the link, to arrive at a “definitive business case”.
West Scotland MSP Jamie Greene (Conservative) said that while he approaches such projects cautiously: “The estimated cost of about £80 million would not just connect Leven, Buckhaven and Methil locally, but would improve access from those towns to the wider area including Glenrothes, the rest of Fife and even the capital.
“About 50,000 people who live in the catchment area would benefit from the line. It would also present significant transport and connectivity improvements that would benefit any new house building or business expansion in the area.”
Transport Minister Humza Yousaf (SNP) praised the efforts of campaigners, adding: “Subject to the agreement of Fife Council, I am minded to instruct my officials at Transport Scotland to take on responsibility for the study, in close collaboration with the council. It will be imperative to have the evidential base when we start to spend taxpayers’ money. I think that we potentially have a way forward on this.”
The route closed to passengers in 1969 but remained open to freight until 2001.
If the route is reopened, it could have new stations at Cameron Bridge and Leven, as well as a freight terminal at the Cameron Bridge distillery, which is claimed to be the largest grain distillery in Europe.